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Intrigued by the wheat sheaf–imprinted, prairie-sweeping cerulean dresses at Rodarte? Drift into a high-plains mood with a copy of Willa Cather’s 1918 My Ántonia, detailing fun times (and not so fun times!) in turn-of-the-century Nebraska.

Dazzled by the crazy eclecticism of Marc Jacobs’s wild synthetic fabrics, made up in shapes that recall the 1940s? Try to deconstruct this nutty futurism by settling down with a copy of Edward Bellamy’s best-seller Looking Backward. Never heard of it? That’s because this utopian novel, set in the year 2000 and getting its predictions charmingly wrong (everyone retires with full benefits at 45!), was published in 1888.

Hopelessly in love with Christopher Kane’s DIY crocheted vibe for fall? Order up a copy of Stewart Brand’s half arcane/half prescient late-1968 Whole Earth Catalog from eBay (or go to wholeearth.com and read it on your smart phone) and find out about everything from making your own clothes to holing up in a geodesic dome.

Photo: (from left) Amazon.com; Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

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Can’t wait to pop Joseph Altuzarra’s fur-lined parka over one of his 1930s-inspired bias-cut evening dresses and pilot your own plane? Get in the spirit by curling up with Susan Butler’s East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart. (Let’s just hope your story ends more happily.)

Photo: (from left) Amazon.com; Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

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Want to express your admiration for the first Americans with a Native American–inspired Proenza Schouler ensemble? Download James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 The Last of the Mohicans, then snap back to tragic reality with Dee Brown’s 1970 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

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Fascinated by that mod moment in the early sixties when a short, frisky white Prada-esque wool dress was the epitome of cool, a mood that would soon be vanquished by an onslaught of hippie hedonism? Two books for you! Start with Sex and the Single Girl, Helen Gurley Brown’s groundbreaking 1962 advice book, and (because, admit it! We know you wouldn’t mind reading it again) chase it with Erich Segal’s utterly shameless Love Story.

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Having fantasies you can’t quite explain, which entail dressing up in a patent leather Louis Vuitton overcoat, military cap, and scary boots? Find yourself thinking about those handcuffed models on the LV runway just a little too often? Maybe a sharp perusal of the Marquis de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom will clarify matters.

Photo: (from left) Amazon.com; Monica Feudi/feudiguaineri.com

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Thinking of riding the Hamptons Jitney with a stack of supermarket tabloids, a veritable mountain of yellow journalism hidden in your yellow PS1 satchel? On the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard with a glorious worthless, unspeakably trashy tome festering in your Fendi? Throw that embarrassing detritus overboard! Just because it’s summer, there’s no excuse to let your intellect go slack or your literary habits descend like a collapsing sand castle. This doesn’t mean that your replacement reading has to be stuffy and dull and devoid of style!

Lots of designers looked to literary sources to inspire their fall 2011 collections (or so it seemed), and you can follow in their illustrious footsteps. Go ahead—delve into something high-toned and classy, a work that has stood the test of time. Not only will you feel like the smartest person on the beach (not hard), but the following suggestions will help you appreciate, enjoy, fantasize about, and ultimately make your selections from the upcoming fall collections.